Jenna Kostet’s The Red Witch wins best audiobook in the fiction category at the Storytel Awards Gala

This year’s Storytel Awards have been revealed in Finland and Jenna Kostet’s The Red Witch was awarded the best audiobook in the fiction category. The title is narrated by Finnish actress Mimosa Willamo.

The jury’s motivation:

“The winner of the Fiction category is a work with a story and narrator that are seamlessly intertwined. The reader is drawn into a strange world by the narrator’s pleasant and clear interpretation, whose broad cast of characters is subtly and believably portrayed. This world, the dark and mysterious Finland of the past, drew the jury in from the very beginning of the story and held its grip until the end. The author’s deep knowledge of history is convincing. The jury was touched by the detail in which the book describes the treatment of animals and calls for their rights. Another topical theme that appealed to the jury was the status of individuals who deviate from the norm – just as hundreds of years ago, marginalised people are still persecuted around the world today.”

Jenna Kostet’s historical novel The Red Witch tells about Valpuri Kinni, a strong-willed woman, a healer who was accused of witchcraft and sentenced to death. In 1635, Valpuri Kinni, a woman from Courland in western Latvia, is thrown into the river in Turku. The trial by water is used to determine her guilt or innocence: if she sinks she is innocent, but if she floats she is a witch. Valpuri has travelled a long way to Finland, but there doesn’t seem to be a corner in the world where she can live in peace without accusations of witchcraft.

Based on historical details found in various archival sources, The Red Witch is the story of a stubborn, outspoken and eccentric woman who does not adapt to her role in society. Valpuri Kinni’s story is as timely today as it was nearly four hundred years ago.

This is the sixth year that Storytel honours the best audiobooks of the year and their narrators in Finland at the Storytel Awards Gala. The Storytel Awards and the Great Audiobook Prize aim to promote the development of the audiobook market, share the joy of listening and acknowledge the contribution of professionals in the creation of an audiobook listening experience. This year, the awards were presented in five categories: Fiction, Thriller & Crime, Children’s & Young Fiction, Non-Fiction & Biographies and Romance & Feel-Good. The Great Audiobook Prize is awarded to the author of the winning work in each category and to the narrator of the audiobook. The cash prize is worth €1,000.

Our warmest congratulations to Jenna Kostet!

Read more on Storytel Finland’s website.